43. Northern Lights

Chapter 43

Northern Lights

LORI

" W here do you think they went?" Sara asks as she examines the place where the Gray Man and Seth disappeared.

"I have no idea, but wherever they are, I hope Seth is okay," I answer.

From the strangled, desperate way Seth called out our enemy's name, I think he finally found his brother. Only a cocky, immortal Fae prince would say that his baby brother had been taken by Morrigan, and forgo the oh-so-important detail that he was in fact a grown man, but it's on brand with Seth's flippant communication skills.

If Ayaan had shown up to that fight only to flee in a cloud of smoke, I would have chased after him, too.

I walk over to Damian to check on his wound, joining him and Elio on the gazebo. "Are you alright?"

Damian grazes the stab wound near his collarbone. "Don't worry. This is not the kind of venom meant to strike down a Fae King." He looks to his prisoner. "But there will be time to discuss everything later. In private."

"Don't mind me. I'm enjoying this immensely," Morrigan cracks.

My fellow hunters—Misha, Cary, and Jo—keep an eye on her while we chat, and Jo growls, "Shut up, witch."

I offer my friend a warm wave. "Too bad Nell couldn't come along," I grunt under my breath, wishing she could have witnessed our victory first-hand.

"She stayed home with Cece, to heal her in case anything happened."

I arch a brow. "Yet you still took that knife to spare her the trouble."

"Like you said. I didn't know what kind of venom was on that blade."

I offer him a soft smile, thinking back to Nell's comment about Damian being extra-broody. "You won't be able to keep her locked away and safe forever, you know."

"You're right, of course." Damian scratches the back of his neck. "I'll take Morrigan away, now, so you two can have some peace for the next part."

Elio nods. "Take her to the Ice City. Kiro will know what to do. I wasn't okay with letting her go home , as she asked. Seemed too convenient."

"The furthest away she remains from my Nell, the better."

"I thought you didn't trust me, anymore," Elio says on a sad frown. "So thank you for your help."

"Lori trusts you, and that's enough for me, old friend." Damian extends a hand toward my husband, and the two men exchange a meaningful arm squeeze. "I'll talk to you both soon."

My chest constricts as Damian, Sara, and the other hunters escort Morrigan off the ice, leaving us behind to fulfill our duty. I brush my hand over the spot on my side where the spider venom used to fester. "We won, and yet she still came out on top, somehow. Look at her, cooing like she's happy to see her old pal, Damian. You did well to keep her in Wintermere."

But Elio's gaze is focused on the well of tears, his fists clenching and unclenching at his sides, and I realize Morrigan is now the farthest thing from his mind.

I walk behind him and brush his arm. "A penny for your thoughts?"

"Winter destroys one, but spares two," he muses. "We have to release the souls to the sky."

I inch toward the stairs leading down to the water, adrenaline still dispensing an equal dose of warning and euphoria in my blood. The water hole under the magnifying glass is almost frozen over, the window for the ritual quickly closing.

"Are we supposed to hold hands going in and swim a little?" I crack, the aloofness in my voice a little forced.

"Not quite."

"I figured." My gaze darts to the lonely eyeball still hovering in the air. "And the camera?"

"It's not as awkward as having Paul here. The camera will remain at a polite distance, and like I said, it will turn away to the sky when our duty is satisfied." Elio licks his lips, his cheeks still flushed from the fight, the knots in his arms flickering in and out of view. "Unless you changed your mind."

I unbutton his undershirt, a finely crafted piece with a classic V-cut, and slip my hands underneath the soft white cotton. My apprehension morphs to desire as I revel in the sight of his chest, bare and glistening. "Hush. I'm looking forward to planting my flag deep in your snow, Elio Lightbringer."

A small laugh quakes his body. "Shouldn't it be the other way around?"

We exchange a quick snicker, but he bites his bottom lip, looking more nervous than I've ever seen him. His platinum- blonde hair curls over his brows, and his breaths come in shallow gasps. Despite his attempts to maintain a stoic facade, worry and fear seep through, as if the Winter King himself is melting under the weight of his emotions—and the blaze of the solstice moon.

"Hey. Look at me." I flatten my palm over his heart. "You better get used to this face, because if Iris got to be your first wife, I intend to be your last. We'll laugh about it next year. Same time. Same place. You and me."

Tears glaze over his eyes. "I'd die for that to happen."

I stand on my tiptoes to kiss him, and the addictive brush of his tongue coaxes a heated moan out of my lungs.

Turning his back to the camera, Elio unfastens his pants and pulls them down, along with his underwear. My jaw hangs open as he stands stark naked in front of me—and most of Wintermere.

"I'll give the people what they want," he says with a wink, "But you owe me."

He picks me up, and I wrap my legs around him. The friction of my uniform against his bare skin makes me want to strip and say to hells with the camera , but I let him take the lead.

Elio breaks through the thin film of ice that formed over the well of tears and finds footing on the first water-covered step leading into the lake.

Water splashes out of the hole and caresses my calves, warmer than I expected. The souls scatter, clearing a space for us as Elio lowers us into the narrow passageway. It's not quite as spacious as a jacuzzi, but it's intimate.

An aquamarine glow dances across the frozen walls of the nature-made lagoon, the water's silky texture making me hum. Almost instantly, I yearn for Elio to touch every inch of me.

It makes sense that a ritual calling for sex would start with an aphrodisiac thrall, but the insidious current of energy rippling from the water is more potent than even the lure of a godlike king in a hall of mirrors.

The televised wedding ceremony was just a romantic premise to accommodate nature's will. Fae gods prefer to be worshipped with flesh, blood, and bones. My body vibrates to a new frequency as the water swirls around my waist, legs, and breasts—cold yet invigorating.

This is where Elio truly makes me his queen.

I can sense the immense glacier beneath the lake, the source of Wintermere's power. The crisp air, the snow-capped mountains in the distance, and the deep night sky are all ravenous for us to consummate this marriage.

Shivers rock my body as Elio freezes the fabric of my pants, then brushes it off my skin like fresh snow. He does the same to my jacket, followed by my shirt, until I'm completely naked.

"By Thanatos… I've got to have you now," Elio rasps, his cock hard against my bare thigh.

A starved, wet, and naked Elio is quickly becoming my favorite version of the Winter King, and I feel giddy. Not only do we get a do-over for our aborted tryst in the Ice City's hot springs, but this is no longer our last chance to find solace together. It's the first of many firsts. Our first night as husband and wife, with another to follow tomorrow—and the day after that. Joy sears my cheeks.

Elio lifts me up and adjusts the angle so he's prodding my entrance, the tip of him wide and delicious. The magic that has been rooting for us to get together from the moment our lips touched dizzies and suffocates me. I swallow his next command with a hot kiss as I lower myself onto him, taking him inch by inch.

He stretches me out slowly, my inner walls acclimating to his size, and we both groan in a mix of relief and greed. Power crawls along my skin and finally seeps inside me. The caress of winter buries deeper and deeper, rearranging the very fabric of my cells. Snowflakes crystallize over my skin, frosting my lips, brows, and collarbone. Elio darts his tongue out to lick the new icy freckles peppering my neck.

"Is it always like this?" I gasp.

"Never. It's never like this," he replies in a hushed drawl.

Elio combs his fingers through my hair, the dark strands now frozen solid. As the ice ensnares me, the cold remains at bay. I feel different. Energized.

I belong here, in the immensity of Winter. Ice can't hurt me anymore. My senses reach down to the bottom of the lake, to the bed of the glacier, and I feel its power mold me into something formidable and endless.

Something better.

I raise a trembling hand to my head and skim the edges of a heavy yet intricate feminine crown.

Elio's fingertips dig into the nape of my neck, his gaze riveted on my new accessory. "You're so fucking beautiful. That crown… I've never seen anything like it. The glacier always wanted you…"

I raise a brow, crumbs of frost falling between us. " The glacier wanted me?"

" I wanted you. I love you. You're my queen."

The sex isn't hard and fast, but slow and steady and maddeningly indulgent. Exquisite waves of pleasure lash through me as the union of our bodies consecrates my rise to Winter Queen.

Elio buries his fingers in the flesh of my waist and guides me up and down the length of his cock. I rock my hips, desperate to emphasize the grind, the pressure at the apex of my thighs spreading along my spine.

I want to see my husband reach his release inside of me—and only me. Forever.

He kisses my breasts with wicked intent, one hand snaking up to twist my cold, hard nipples. A gentle burst of ice zaps through them before he licks the frost off, my moans growing impatient and high-pitched as I curse him for playing with my body in such a cruel, cruel way.

"I'm close," Elio says in a hoarse whisper. "I want you to scream as you come."

He snaps his hips, filling me so deep, and my core throbs as I reach the peak. I scream, more than happy to obey his instruction, and the orgasm leaves me feeling intoxicated, happy, and boneless.

"Oh, Lori," he cries out, and I feast on the sight of him falling apart, his hardness pulsing inside me.

We ebb down from the high, my nails still embedded in his neck, and breathe together until our rushed breaths soften into loving whispers.

"Look," he says, spinning me around in his embrace. "It's done."

Sometime during our love-making session, the entire lake had melted, and I draw in a sharp breath, blown away by the beauty of the clear turquoise waters. The lights rise to the sky, joining their comrades in the vast expanse of the night.

Tears sting my cheeks as I think of the grieving families, but I can sense the souls' relief at being set free. Millions of them rise higher and higher before shooting upward with as many comets' tails. Falling stars burning in reverse, shining bright for one last time.

Northern lights paint the starry sky in green, pink, and purple streaks, as though the gods are throwing a party for the new arrivals.

"It's"—no adjective seems enough to describe this moment, my new husband's arm slung across my waist, holding me close as we watch the most beautiful spectacle nature has to offer—"perfect. I can't believe we'll get to see this every year."

Elio nuzzles the side of my face with a sigh. "You still don't fear my curse one bit, do you?"

"What curse?" I joke. "I made you a promise, and I intend to keep it. Next year, we'll laugh about this, you'll see."

"Promises can be broken, little spider. Even the most solemn of them."

I stand and stretch gingerly. "Stop pouting and take me home. We've had a grueling day. I want to sleep in your arms tonight."

Ice creeps along the rim of the lagoon, and I hold out a hand to help Elio up.

He rises to his feet and wraps a protective arm around me. "Let's go to my apartments in the Ice City. We can have some privacy before the reception tomorrow."

"No, the tower." The words leave my mouth of their own accord, as if the new magic inside me yearns to return to Iris's bedchamber—perhaps to desecrate it as Elio suggested earlier.

"Are you sure?" he asks quietly.

"Yes. There are some ghosts there that need to be put to rest."